Trump Ally Gaetz Calls for AUMF Repeal: 'Time to Vote Against the Iraq War'

Despite a White House veto warning, 11 Republicans joined the Democratic majority in the House on Thursday voting to repeal the 2002 authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) in Iraq. Read

WHO Declares Coronavirus a Global Emergency; First Person-to-Person Transmission in US

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday declared a global emergency over the outbreak of a novel coronavirus in China, and U.S. health authorities reported the first confirmed case in the United States of a patient with no recent history of travel to Wuhan, the outbreak epicenter. Read

Pompeo on Mideast Peace Plan Opponents: ‘The Same Critics Who Have Failed for 70 Years’

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday dismissed opponents of President Trump’s Mideast peace proposals as “the same critics who have failed for 70 years” to achieve peace between Israel and the Palestinians. Read

Pompeo Ahead of Kyiv Visit: ‘Of Course’ Americans ‘Care About the People of Ukraine’

As he prepares to visit Ukraine on Thursday, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo insisted that “the American people care about the people of Ukraine,” following reports that he had implied the opposite when talking to a journalist less than a week ago. Read

China Coronavirus Death Toll Climbs; GOP Senator Calls for Targeted Flight Ban

The number of confirmed cases of the China-originated novel coronavirus is approaching 8,000, and by Thursday morning local time the number of deaths had climbed to 170. Read

Tlaib Promotes Post Falsely Accusing Jews of Murdering Child, Then Issues Non-Apology

Palestinian-American lawmaker Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) drew criticism last week when she retweeted a Twitter post promoting unverified claims that Jewish “settlers” had kidnapped a Palestinian child and thrown him into a well. Read

Palestinians (and Democrats) Reject Trump's Peace Plan, But Key Arab States Do Not

Palestinian leaders have, as anticipated, roundly rejected President Trump’s Mideast peace proposal, but the stance of some key Sunni Arab states is more nuanced, characterizing it as an important basis from which to move ahead. Read

Concerns About Biden’s Role in Ukraine Are Not ‘Baseless,’ Trump Team Argues

The adjective “baseless” has been widely used by House Democratic leaders and media outlets to describe concerns about former Vice President Joe Biden’s dealings in Ukraine, but during Monday’s Senate impeachment trial hearing a member of President Trump’s legal team pointed to media reporting at the time on concerns about potential conflict of interest. Read

As Coronavirus Death Toll Rises Sharply in China, US Officials Prepare to Depart

The number of confirmed cases of a new coronavirus in China climbed sharply to more than 4,470 early Tuesday, with 107 deaths reported, as U.S. officials prepared to fly State Department personnel and a limited number of U.S. citizens out of Wuhan, the city in Hubei province where the outbreak originated. Read

Netanyahu Foresees ‘History’ Being Made With Trump This Week; Hamas Pledges More Terror

Ahead of the unveiling of the Trump administration’s long-delayed Mideast peace proposal, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu left Israel for Washington on Sunday speaking optimistically about an extraordinary moment in his country’s history, even as Hamas pledged to use “all means of resistance” to foil a plan Palestinians view as heavily weighted in Israel’s favor. Read

Kobe Bryant on Donning the USA Uniform in 2008: ‘It’s The Greatest Country in the World’

Basketball legend Kobe Bryant, who captained the gold-winning U.S. Men’s Basketball Team at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, recalled at the time having “goosebumps” the first time he received his USA uniform. Read

‘Direct Hit’ Reported as Rockets Target US Embassy in Baghdad

Several rockets targeted the U.S. Embassy in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on Sunday evening, with some reportedly hitting the building itself for the first time in several years. Read

Miffed at Program Change, Iran’s Zarif Skips Davos

Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif canceled his planned visit to the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos at the last minute because, his ministry said on Monday, organizers had abruptly changed the program in a way that affected him. Read

Trump Leaves for Davos on Upbeat Note: ‘THE BEST IS YET TO COME!’

On the eve of the opening of the U.S. Senate impeachment trial, President Trump left the White House to fly to the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos on Monday night with a thumbs-up and an exultant tweet, pledging to bring back “hundreds of billions of dollars” to the U.S. Read

Sanders Scores Another Win in the Battle For ‘Progressive’ Endorsements

Two weeks out from the Iowa Caucuses, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) secured another victory in the battle for endorsements between the two leading liberals in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, winning the backing of Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. Read

Trump Heads to Davos, Where Climate is a Key Focus

Buoyed by two significant trade accomplishments, President Trump is heading this week to the World Economic Forum’s annual high-level gathering in Davos, where the organizers have made climate a major focus. Read

Ayatollah: IRGC Missiles Dealt ‘Major Blow to America’s Fearsome Superpower Image’

Iranian officials and state media continue to promote the notion that the regime’s retaliatory missile strikes on Iraqi bases hosting U.S. forces dealt a crushing blow to the United States and its image in the region. Read

US Commends Albania for Expelling Iranian ‘Diplomats’

The State Department on Thursday welcomed the Albanian government’s decision to expel two Iranian “diplomats,” a move underscoring concerns about the Iranian regime’s clandestine efforts to target exiled dissidents in the West. Read

Ignoring US Calls to Isolate Iran, Russia Supports Iran Joining Moscow-Beijing Security Bloc

Just days after the Iranian regime fired missiles at military bases in Iraq and accidentally shot down a Ukrainian passenger plane, Russia’s foreign minister has reiterated that Moscow supports full membership for Tehran in a Eurasian security bloc sometimes viewed as an aspiring counterweight to NATO and the West. Read

Iraqi-Born Muslim, a Former Refugee, Launches Campaign to Unseat Ilhan Omar

Making waves on social media on Thursday: An Iraqi-American, Muslim, former refugee, and supporter of President Trump has launched a campaign to unseat Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) in November. Read

Iran’s Zarif: Only Trump and ISIS Are Celebrating Qassem Soleimani’s Death

The only people who celebrated the death of Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani were President Trump and the Sunni terrorist group ISIS, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said Wednesday. Read

Taiwan’s Re-Elected President: China Needs to ‘Face Reality,’ ‘We Are an Independent Country’

In comments guaranteed to further infuriate Beijing, Taiwan’s newly-reelected President Tsai Ing-Wen told the BBC this week that the island democracy is already independent, and has no need formally to declare itself as such. Read

Rep. McCaul: Democrats Relieved Soleimani Is Gone, But ‘May Not Be Able to Say So’

The ranking Republican on the House Foreign Affairs Committee said Monday he wished House Democrats would join in praising President Trump for the killing of “Iran’s terror commander” as Republicans had when al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed during the Obama administration. Read

Rep. Omar Wonders Why Iran Would Consider a Deal With US After Everything Trump Has Done

As the House Foreign Affairs meeting held its first hearing on Iran at a time of significant tensions in the region, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) wondered why the regime would possibly want to enter into a new agreement with the U.S. after the actions taken by the administration against it. Read

Biden Claims, Incorrectly, That Trump ‘Weakened’ Sanctions Against North Korea

Former Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday night accused President Trump of having “weakened” sanctions against the North Korean regime – a claim not borne out by the record. Read

Iran Plane Shootdown: Victims’ Countries Demand Justice; Regime Explanation Raises Questions

Representatives of five nations whose citizens were among those killed when Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) shot down a Ukrainian plane are due to meet in London on Thursday to discuss possible legal action. Read

Pompeo: Soleimani Was Plotting ‘A Set of Imminent Attacks … It Was Unmistakable’

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday again backed President Trump’s assertion that Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani had been plotting “imminent attacks” when the president ordered the airstrike that killed him. Read

Trump Tweets Support as Protesting Iranians Liken Ayatollah to Dead General

Iranian students and others angered by the shooting down of a passenger plane demonstrated against the regime for a second day Sunday, with chants equating supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to the IRGC Qods Force’s dead commander Qassem Soleimani. Read

Kerry: Trump’s Remarks About the IRGC Benefiting From Nuclear Deal Are ‘Lies’

Former Secretary of State John Kerry disputed Sunday that the budget of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had risen “markedly” as a result of the nuclear deal he negotiated on behalf of the Obama administration, and accused President Trump of lying. Read

Passenger Jet Crashes After Take-Off From Tehran Airport in Iran

A Ukrainian passenger jet carrying 180 passengers and crew reportedly crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran’s international airport on Wednesday morning. Read

Iran Fires ‘More than a Dozen’ Ballistic Missiles at Iraqi Bases Housing US Forces

Iranian regime forces on Tuesday fired “more than a dozen” ballistic missiles at two military bases in Iraq housing U.S. and coalition forces, the Department of Defense has confirmed. There were no immediate reports of casualties. Read

Putin Huddles With Assad After Death of Mutual Ally Soleimani

Two major beneficiaries of Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani’s military intervention in the Syrian civil war, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Russian President Vladimir Putin, met in Damascus on Tuesday to discuss “recent developments in the region.” Read

Biden Says NATO Allies See ‘Moral Equivalence’ Between U.S. and Iran

Democratic presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden told a campaign fundraiser on Monday night that NATO allies regard the actions of the United States and Iran in the current standoff as morally equivalent. Read

US Boosts Security at Kenya Airfield After Terrorists Kill Three Americans

A Djibouti-based U.S. Army response force has been dispatched to a military base in Kenya to bolster security after an attack Sunday by al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorists killed an American soldier and two Department of Defense contractors. Read

Pompeo: US Will Impose ‘Costs on the Decision-Makers’ in Iranian Regime For Any Attacks by Proxies

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo warned Sunday that the U.S. will “impose costs on the decision-makers” in Iran for any attacks carried out by the regime’s proxies, whether in Iraq, Syria, Yemen or Lebanon. Read

US Blacklists Notorious Iran-Backed Iraqi Militia With US Blood on its Hands

Hours after the U.S. military killed Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani and a senior leader in the Iranian-backed Iraqi militia Kata’ib Hezbollah last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the designation of another prominent Iraqi militia as a foreign terrorist organization. Read

Trump: If Americans Are Targeted US Will Send ‘Beautiful’ New Military Equipment Iran’s Way

President Trump warned the Iranian regime overnight that in the event of an attack on an American base or an American national, some of the “beautiful” U.S. military equipment acquired over the past three years would be sent its way, “and without hesitation.” Read

Republicans Welcome Soleimani’s Death; Biden, Sanders Warn of ‘Dangerous Escalation

Democrats including 2020 presidential candidates weighing in on the killing of IRGC Qods Force commander Major-General Qassem Soleimani accused President Trump of “dangerous escalation.” Republicans welcomed the end of a man blamed for the deaths of hundreds of American troops. Read

Pentagon Confirms: US Military Has Killed IRGC Qods Force Chief Soleimani

Major-General Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and considered in the West as arguably the most powerful man in Iran, was killed overnight in a U.S. airstrike on a convoy near Baghdad Airport. Read

Kim Jong Un Announces ‘A New Strategic Weapon,’ Stops Short of Ending Diplomacy With US

North Korea entered 2020 not with Kim Jong Un’s customary new year speech but with state media outlets reporting on a just-ended four-day meeting of the ruling Workers’ Party, at which Kim “confirmed that the world will witness a new strategic weapon to be possessed by the DPRK in the near future.” Read

Baghdad Embassy Attackers Pull Back; Tehran Foresees Iraqis Expelling US Forces

Pro-Iranian Iraqi militiamen and supporters pulled back from the U.S. Embassy compound in Baghdad on Wednesday following a second days of clashes and tensions, but from Tehran came optimistic predictions that Iraqi authorities will now work to end the U.S. military presence there. Read

Amid Iraq Tensions, Iran’s Ayatollah Responds to Trump’s Threats: ‘Like Hell You Will’

U.S. troops reportedly fired teargas at pro-Iranian Iraqi militiamen outside the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on New Year’s Day, a day after militia members and supporters broke into the mission compound, prompting warnings from President Trump and a decision to deploy additional U.S. forces to the region. Read